For this post, let’s break down a well known romance plot to see where the story beats are going. This is an exercise I’d really recommend for authors of any genre. Take your favorite story, or movie, and break it down to see how they made everything work. You’ll be surprised how much it helps you break down your own story! And yes, this is the movie I’m turning into plot points, but it still translates to novel form. Beauty…
Welcome to the first Insecure Writer’s Group post of the year for me. Somehow January scarpered, and here we are in the first post for February. If you’re thinking of joining the group yourself, let me reassure you that once a month posts really aren’t as difficult as I’m making it look. Come join us! This month the kind co-hosts keeping us all on track are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner! Our optional question for this month is…
I’m so glad you asked. (Literally no one has asked). I did promise to make this independent author journey transparent, though. So you are about to get the update you might not have wanted, but will be interested in anyway. Onward! As indie author SE White I released my novella, Beneath Me, in August of 2021. You will be pleased and proud to know that Draft 2 Digital already had to send me two royalty payments. Yep! A whole $3.20…
Here we are again, my bookworm friends. Yes, the IWSG romance anthology and my own book came out within days of each other. It’s just the way things worked out, timing wise. As of today, you can get your hands on Michaela and Hiro’s story and it’s a good one. It’s someone with a devoted romance background (hi, it me) taking on superhero tropes and adding a happily ever after to the kind of stories which don’t often get their…
The IWSG anthology is out today, and I’m so excited! Since my story is included, I had the privilege of reading the entire thing as it was getting prepared for publication, and you are in for a treat. In the book you’ll find many great short stories, bringing you back to that sensation of your first love. A cold, controlled woman who just might be thawed by the special care taken to make her doughnuts, a sweet historical, a look…
It’s the first Wednesday in August, which means it’s IWSG day! Bask in the support and kindness of your fellow authors, and come join the group if you haven’t already. The group is on Twitter (@IWSG) and uses the hashtag IWSG on social medias, if you’re the masochistic type who flitters around social media. (And we are all that type.) Our volunteer co-hosts this month are Tara Tyler, Lisa Buie Collard, Loni Townsend, and Lee Lowery! Go tell them thank you for giving us…
It must be the first Wednesday of June, because here I am posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. In addition to the delight of many silly gifs in this post literally no one asked for, you get me as a co-host for the IWSG, along with the wonderful Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray! And our question for this first day of June is: When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to…
It must be the first Wednesday of the month, because here I am writing with insecurity, from a place of simultaneous doubt and confidence. If you like to write with similar contradictions, and want to come out the other side of the post feeling obscurely reassured by complete strangers on the internet, this is definitely the group for you. Come join! Speaking of complete strangers floating gently around the interwebs doing kind deeds, this month our IWSG co-hosts are Kim…
What I thought it would be like: Writing retreats full of discourse, stimulating discussions, plotting, and lots of other authors. What it’s actually like: #You’reTooPoor #SillyAuthor #RetreatsAreForBestSellers What I thought it would be like: Ideas lining up, falling neatly into their places, everything is flowing and glorious and ticking along like pure, perfect, writing clockwork. What it’s actually like: EVER HEARD OF SLEEPING, Ideas? GIVE ME A BREAK. What I thought it would be like: Editing, DONE. Polishing? This baby…
Inquiring authors want to know: What’s harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? (It’s me. I’m inquiring authors.) My answer: Titles. Titles are the hardest thing ever. Titles are horrible, nasty, no good, very bad, brain-killing beasts. Compared to titles, naming my characters is a breeze. And not like, a fourteen-kilometer-per-hour windstorm breeze, one of those gentle zephyr kind. So many options, all of them easy breezy. I can use names I like the sound…